ten·dril  (t ĕn dr əl)
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n.1. A twisting, slender structure by which a plant, such as a grape or cucumber, twines around and often climbs an object or another plant. 2. Something, such as a ringlet of hair, that is long, slender, and curling.
[French tendrillon, from Old French, diminutive of tendron, young shoot, from tendre, tender; see TENDER1.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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